Hi guys,

 

I have already done a pretty good forum search and come up with, what I hope is the obvious diagnosis, but just want to run it by you experts once for confirmation &/or additional suggestions. So here it is:

 

Drove 20mi down the freeway to work ... running fine, then as I get off, the car dies on the ramp. I was low on gas so first thought was "wow, I guess it was lower than I thought!" ... put gas in, tried to turn over & nothing - not a sputter. So towed it to my work & cranked it over numerous times with same result. Got co-worker to check for spark at plug - nada. Repeat with coil - nada. So after some forum searching I decided to throw a new coil in since it was a cheap part & replaced cap/rotor wires. Still nothing, not a hint of a sputter. More forum searches & another day & decide to follow suggestion to see if the rotor was turning while cranking the engine. BINGO - rotor does not turn.

 

So, after all that, am I 99% correct in assuming it is the timing belt(s)?

 

Any other ideas?

 

Thanks!

 

Caleb

there are small inspection holes on the front of the timing belt covers, shine a flashlight in the hole and have someone else crank the motor, Be careful of moving parts!!!!!

 

But yeah, that's what I'm thinking too.

Ah the joys of an EA82... ya sounds like a broken belt, happened twice on my GL

eek ... well the parts are cheap .... but ... never done a timing belt!

 

Has to be easier than clutch - axle - wheel bearing right?

all in all, TBs are pretty simple. when you remove the cover, leave them off. perminantly. it makes a 2 hr job into a 30 min job next time

Timing belt or broken cam shaft.

 

Not really *easier* than a clutch, axle, or wheel bearing - those have their own little nuances..... But t-belts are not that hard on the EA82. Just a little weird in how they line up is all.

 

GD

The belts themselves are simple. The only difficult/time-consuming part might be getting access. Vehicles with an engine driven fan can take some time and patience to remove the radiator. Removing the timing covers can be frustrating because the bolts corrode in the captive nuts in the plastic covers, and then just spin the nuts instead of backing out.

 

You can keep it simple and just replace the belts, or do some PM while you are at it. (TB idler/tensioners, water pump, reseal the oil pump.)

 

Belts are not aligned using TDC, but using a set of 3 scribed lines on the flywheel. Some manuals forget to mention that the cam alignment marks need to be 180deg apart when you are done. (They forget/gloss-over the need to rotate the crank 360deg before setting the second belts alignment.) Recheck when you think that you are done because it is easy to be one tooth off.